An Argument Against a Presupposition Essay -- Political Science

In The American Democracy and Its National Principle, Herbert Croly makes an eloquent and poignant case for adopting a nationalistic frame of mind. According to Croly, we are rapidly approaching a junction where we must choose between the traditional values, measures and mind set of our past or embrace the opportunities of the future. As a people we should realize that the future holds great promise, and that is why we should focus on empowering a centralized system of governance that replaces the antiquated approach to governance: regional centricity whose players are driven by their self-interest rather than the common good. This may sound like nationalism but this is an inadequate assessment. To Croly, nationalism is a much grander thing. Nationalism requires substantially more than â€Å"merely† centralizing the government; there must be a shift in how people see themselves, from a collection of states into a single American people. Nationalism is a philosophical ide al that far outstretches any tangible thing. Nationalism requires a unified frame of mind focused on a single point of governance. Croly’s opinion, while not revolutionary, was still regarded with suspension by many people in 1909 (the year Croly’s essay was published). People who were wary of a nationalistic government and a unified frame of mind had a good argument against Croly’s essay. Much of this essay focuses on this argument against Croly’s presuppositions regarding the â€Å"progressive† outcome of nationalization. First off, Croly bases everything in his argument on the claim that the â€Å"national interest† is predicated on democratic principles (as cited in Eisenach, p19). This is why people should have nothing to fear from a nationalistic government: i... ...al level (Eisenach, viii). I do not buy the argument that consolidating more power into the national government invariably leads to progress. At the same time, Croly‘s argument against nostalgic dogma is well founded and enlightened. Indeed, there are several interesting points Croly makes about the ramifications of inaction and indifference regarding amending the constitution. However, it was evident to me after reading the essay that his call for progressivism had, at best, several logical flaws and, at worst, paralleled fascism to an alarming degree. Works Cited Croly, H. (1909). The American Democracy and Its National Principle. (as cited in Eisenach, p#) References to the introduction section are in roman numeralsEisenach. (2006). The Social and Political Thought of American Progressivism. Hackett Publishing Company, Inc. (Eisenach)